Does anyone know the origin of our surname Wu in Shaoxing County, Zhejiang? Where did the "Da Ru De Jin" generation come from?

"Da Ru De Jin" should not be the character generation of a family tree~~~~Generally these four characters appear in pairs. Go and look for them here

wu .net/zp/Index.shtml

As for the origin, Baidu has a complete list~~I can’t post it here

The origin of the surname Wu:

1. It comes from the surname Ji, takes the country as its surname, and is a descendant of the Xuanyuan family of the Yellow Emperor.

Characters surnamed Wu existed as early as the time of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. There was a minister named Wu Quan of Emperor Yan, and his descendants were the inventors of Chinese music.

The primitive clan named "Wu" because of its bravery and good at hunting, its activities before Yao and Shun are recorded in classic history books such as "Shangshu", "Spring and Autumn", "Guoyu", and "Historical Records" Records are sparse, and only in Luo Mi's "History of the Country: Records of the Names of States" of the Song Dynasty, which is known for its breadth and complexity, Wu Quan's clan is listed as the first Wu clan. "History of the Road" says that Wu Quan was a minister of Emperor Yan. It can be seen that the Wu people were originally subordinate to the Yandi and Huangdi tribal groups. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas - Hai Nei Jing" records an interesting and bizarre story: Wu Quan's wife was called Ah Nu Yuan Fu. She had an affair with Feng Boling, the grandson of Emperor Yan who was a minister of the Yellow Emperor at the time, and became pregnant. Three years later, she gave birth to three children. , respectively called Gu, Yan, and Shu. It is said that Guheyan is the inventor of the bell and the earliest inventor of music. Feng Boling is the ancestor of the Jiang and Qi clans.

Wu Quan belongs to the ancient Wu clan. "History of the Road" has made it clear. In fact, Wu Quan is not only a personal name, it is also most likely a clan name. Because of this, some books also say that Wu Quan was from Zhuanxu's time. The legends are different and there is no need to go into details. Chen Mingyuan's "Chinese Surname Renquan" said: Wu Quan's descendants took Wu as their surname and became a branch of the Wu surname.

The Chinese nation regards the Yellow Emperor as the ancestral god of the world. According to the records of "Lu Shi·Guo Ming Ji": the mother of the Yellow Emperor was a female member of the ancient Wu people named Wu Shu. .

When Emperor Zhuanxu arrived, there was another man named Wu Hui. He and his brother Chongli successively served as the Fire Officer-Zhurong. Wu Hui is another outstanding demigod figure among the ancient Wu people. He is the great-grandson of Zhuanxu Gaoyang and the son of Laotong. By the time of Gaoxin clan (Emperor Ku), Wu was called Wu Hui because he moved to the land of Wu people. Wu Hui's brother Chongli served as the fire official of the Gaoxin clan, named Zhurong. Later, he was eliminated by the Gaoxin clan emperor Ku because of his incompetence in doing things. In this way, Wu Hui succeeded Chong Li as the fire management officer of Emperor Ku Gaoxin's family, and was appointed Zhurong. The duties of Zhu Rongzhiguan are, firstly, to observe the Mars and Fire constellations in the sky, and in addition to be in charge of the fires used by the tribe for lighting, heating, and cooking food. This was a very sacred thing in the savage and barbaric eras. Because of this, after Wu Hui became Zhu Rong, his reputation spread far and wide. After his death, he was revered as the God of Zhu Rong. Classics listed him as one of the three emperors in ancient China. Zhu Rong dealt with fire and became the god of fire after his death, also called "Zhu Tian Bodhisattva". According to rural folk custom, when encountering a fire, he would shout "Zhu Tian Bodhisattva bless you and be safe" and kneel down to worship. In the theory of the five elements theory, fire matches the south, so the fire god Zhurong became the god of the south among the five emperors.

After Wu Hui became the leader of the Zhurong tribe in the south, the Wu clan continued to grow and expand, and was gradually separated into eight clans, of which the Kunwu clan was one. Wu Hui resurrected Lu Zhong. Lu Zhong married a girl named Nvya, a sister of Gui Fang's family in the southwest. She gave birth by caesarean section and gave birth to six sons: Kunwu, Shenhu, Pengzu, Huiren, Cao and Jilian. These six sons each became the leader of a clan and had their own surname and surname. The Kunwu family was the eldest son of Lu Zhong, and his real name was Fan. After his clan separated, he lived in Kunwu, around present-day Anyi, Shanxi Province. The clan was given the surname "Ji" and the surname was named "Kunwu" after the place. " Later, the Kunwu family moved eastward to Xuchang, Henan. Legend has it that the Kunwu family was the inventor of the pottery manufacturing industry. "Shuowen Jiezi" states: "Kunwu means a round vessel." Kunwu itself is another name for the pot. The descendants of the Kunwu family multiplied and prospered, producing the surnames Kunwu, Fan, Kun, and Wu. The ancient pronunciation of the word "Wu" is similar to that of "Wu", so some of the Wu family changed their name to "Wu" and became a branch of the Wu family in later generations. "Lu Shi·Houji": "Kunwu" made a bet: "The family name also contains the Wu family". If the Wu Hui assimilated from the Wu clan to the Zhurong clan of Chongli and split into the eight surnames Zhurong, it was a divorce of the ancient Wu people, then the change of the Kunwu clan to the Wu clan was a small return of the Wu clan. But this is what the "History of the Road" says. So far, no one with the surname Wu claims to be a descendant of Kunwu.

During the emperor's reign, the Quanrong tribe had a brave and capable leader, General Wu. When the Wu people were in the Gaoxin clan, one group joined the Western Quanrong tribe and used dogs as their totems. An outstanding member of the Wu tribe became the leader of the Quanrong tribe for his bravery and prowess in battle, and was known as "General Wu" in history. General Wu is good at fighting and is an enemy of the Chinese tribal group led by the Gaoxin clan in the Central Plains. Emperor Ku's Gaoxin clan had no way to defeat the enemy, so he had to offer a large reward for talent: whoever could cut off General Wu's head would be promised to marry his two beautiful princesses. After the edict was issued, no one applied. Later, a dog raised by Gao Xin killed General Wu and married the princess.

During the Shaokang period of the Xia Dynasty, there was a man named Wu He. He was famous for his good archery. He once competed with Hou Yi, the great archer at that time. This story is recorded in "The Lineage of the Emperors". "Compendium of Chinese Surnames" says: "Legend has it that during the reign of King Shaokang of the Xia Dynasty, there was Wu He, and then there was the Wu family." Wu He is seen in "Century of Emperors", where he competed with Yi in archery. In fact, Wu He was one of the ancient Wu people. The clan government established by the Wu people was Wu, which existed throughout the Xia and Shang dynasties. "Lu Shi·Guo Ming Ji" says: "(Shang) Zhou also had Wu Bo."

The Yellow Emperor is the humanistic ancestor of the Chinese nation and the ancient ancestor recorded in the history of the Wu surname. He lived In the Jishui Basin (about present-day northern Shaanxi), Ji was the surname. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor married four virtuous wives and gave birth to 25 sons, 14 of whom received the surname, and were later divided into 14 tribes. The two sons Xuanxiao and Changyi born to Huangdi's wife Leizu inherited Huangdi's original surname Ji, and the Wu surname was passed down from the Xuanxiao branch. Emperor Ku, the fourth generation grandson of Xuan Xiao, became the leader of the tribal alliance at that time. He married Jiang Xiang, the daughter of the Tai family, as his head wife. Jiang Xiang was the maternal ancestor of the Zhou clan. The ancient "Book of Songs" records the legend about the time when Jiang Sheng was abandoned by the leader of the Zhou clan. Legend has it that Jiang Xolotl went out to play one day and saw a giant's footprints. Out of curiosity, he stepped on it with his foot. After returning home, he became pregnant and later gave birth to a boy. Jiang Xolotl was shocked and frightened by this and took the child away. Treated as a monster and thrown into the wilderness. However, an even stranger phenomenon happened: cattle and sheep came to feed him, a woodcutter came to rescue him, and a big bird warmed him with its wings, causing the child to abandon him three times and never die. Jiang (Nv Yuan) thought that there must be gods protecting him, so she decided to take him back and raise him, and named him Ai. Qi was very smart when he was a child, and liked to imitate adults in planting crops such as hemp and beans. As an adult, he was very good at farming. He knew at a glance what kind of crops a piece of land was suitable for. Therefore, the people nearby followed his example and respected him. He is an agriculturist.

Qi was regarded as the ancestor of Zhou tribes in later generations, and was called Zhuanzhou Qi in the world. Zhou Qi probably lived during the periods of Shun and Yu. He assisted Dayu in flood control and served as Dayu's agricultural officer. In his later life, he was called Houji. After Zhou Qi's death, he was worshiped as Houji, the God of Agriculture. At the end of the Xia Dynasty, Zhou abandoned his descendants and became agricultural officials in the Xia Dynasty. When it was passed down to Buchu (ku), it was the end of the Xia Dynasty. "Historical Records of Zhou Dynasty" records: "After the Xia Dynasty, the political power declined, and he left Ji and did not do anything. Buchu lost his official position and went to the Rong and Di." At the end of the Xia Dynasty, the political situation was chaotic. Buzhou, the leader of the Zhou clan, no longer served as a Xia agricultural official. He led his tribe to migrate to the northwest region where Rong, Di and other ethnic minorities lived. The Zhou tribe lived between the Rong and Di, and were often harassed by them. For more than ten generations, the Zhou tribe had been constantly running and migrating, but they could still inherit the inheritance from father to son. , the lineage remains intact. During the Gong Liu period, the Zhou tribe moved to Bindi (today's Bin County, Shaanxi Province) to avoid the intrusion of Rong and Di. The land in Bindi was fertile, and the Zhou people restored their ancestors' farming traditions here. Agriculture developed and the people lived a prosperous life. The Zhou people began to revive under the leadership of their leader Gong Liu. "Historical Records: Zhou Benji" describes the prosperous social scene of the Zhou people at that time: "Those who travel have wealth, those who live have savings, and the people rely on them to celebrate. The people cherish it, and many people move back. "Because Gong Liu made great contributions to the development history of the Zhou people, Zhou people wrote the poem "Gong Liu" to praise and commemorate him.

When Gongliu passed down several generations to Gugongshifu, the Central Plains had entered the Yin and Shang Dynasties. In some genealogies of the Wu surname, Gugongshifu was regarded as the most recent ancestor in ancient times. Zhou people have entered a period of stable development since ancient times. Gu Gongdan's father had three sons, the eldest son Taibo, the second son Zhongyong, and the third son Ji Li, all of whom were very capable. His third son Ji Li married Tai Ren, the daughter of the Zhi Zhong family of the Yin Shang Dynasty. Tai Ren and Tai Si, the wife of King Wen, were recognized as virtuous women in ancient my country and played a major role in the prosperity of the Zhou clan. Tairen gave birth to Chang for the Zhou clan, and Chang was King Wen of Zhou who laid a solid foundation for Zhou to destroy Shang. According to legend, there were auspicious signs when Tai Ren was born Chang. Chang had extraordinary talent and noble moral character since he was a child, and was deeply loved by his grandfather.

Gu Gong Danfu even pinned his ideal of revitalizing the Zhou clan on Sun Tzu Chang. Sometimes he couldn't help but say in front of everyone: "If there is prosperity in my world, is it in Chang?"

According to Zhou people According to the social tradition, after the death of Gu Gongxuan's father, the eldest son Taibo should inherit the throne. If Taibo died early, the successor should be Zhongyong. Ji Li ranked third and had no chance to inherit the throne. Chang, as the son of Ji Li, would be more likely to inherit the throne. There is no chance of inheriting the throne.

Gu Gong’s father was ill, so Tai Bo and Zhong Yong left Zhou Yuan on the pretext of going out to collect medicine for their father. According to historical records, the two brothers set out from the Qishan area of ​​Shaanxi Province and came to the Jingman and Wuyue areas (today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas). The Wuyue area was inhabited by primitive and backward ethnic minorities whose customs were very different from those of the Central Plains. The two brothers followed the local customs and had their tattoos and hair cut off. In the eyes of the Zhou people, the two brothers had become barbarians and disabled people, and were no longer qualified to inherit the throne.

After Taibo and Zhongyong fled to Wu, Ji Li successfully succeeded to the throne, and later passed the throne to King Wen Chang. Wang Chang of Zhou Wen lived up to the high expectations of his grandfather Gu Gong Danfu and worked hard to destroy Shang and revitalize the Zhou clan. Although he failed to destroy Shang during his lifetime, he divided the world into three parts and Zhou occupied the second. After his son Wu Wangfa succeeded to the throne, he launched a large-scale attack on the Shang Dynasty. Four years later, he destroyed the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty, finally completing the great task of reviving the Zhou clan. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, Taibo and Zhongyong were commended by the Zhou Dynasty, and their descendants were granted the title of Wu, establishing a powerful Wu state. Later descendants of the Wu surname mostly respected Taibo and Zhongyong as the ancestors of the surname.

According to ancient historical records, the Jingman area where Taibo and Zhongyong arrived is today's Wuxi and Suzhou areas in the Taihu Lake Basin in southern Jiangsu. The branch of Taibo and Zhongyong is a branch of the Tanyang Ji (a branch of the Zhou people who lived on the north bank of the Han River in ancient times) recorded in ancient books. They are neighbors of the Chu State, and the Chu State is one of the Five Emperors. Built by descendants. After the Chu State became stronger, the concubines of Hanyang were threatened by the Chu people and were forced to migrate. One of them, Taibo and Zhongyong, moved east to Wu, Jiangsu, where they conquered the local indigenous residents and established the Wu State. "Historical Records: Wu Taibo's Family" says: "Since Taibo became Wu, King Wu conquered Yin in the fifth generation and granted the following two titles. One, Yu, was in China; the other, Wu, was in the barbarians." After King Wu conquered Shang, he was enfeoffed. Among the descendants of Taibo and Zhongyong, one branch was entrusted to Yu, the place where Taibo and Zhongyong first moved, that is, Yudi, Shanxi. The other branch was left to Wu, a land in the southeast that was not yet developed at that time. No matter how many explanations later generations have for their migration process, there is no dispute that Taibo and Zhongyong, the Zhou people surnamed Ji, finally arrived in the ancient Wu land of Jiangsu.

Taibo Jianwu

After Taibo and Zhongyong arrived in Wudi, Jiangsu, they brought advanced agricultural production technology in the Central Plains, promoted the development of the local economy, and were favored by the local indigenous people. The people of Wu generally welcomed him, and they all went to seek refuge. Taibo and Zhongyong brothers soon gathered more than a thousand people from Wu. They were inspired by the noble integrity, benevolence and righteousness of Taibo and Zhongyong brothers, and voluntarily supported Taibo as their ruler. Because Taibo lived in the land of Wu, the country with the surname Ji established by Taibo here was called "Ji Wu". ” (the sentence is a prefix that sounds and has no actual meaning), referred to as Wu.

When Taibo founded Wu, it was already the end of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and the princes of the Central Plains were fighting incessantly. Taibo was afraid that the war would involve the Wudi and affect the lives of the people in the Wudi, so he built a city in Meili, southeast of today's Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. According to legend, the inner city of this city had a circumference of 300 steps, and the outer city had a circumference of more than 300 miles. People inside were like It's like living in a paradise, farming and growing crops, being self-sufficient and living without interference from the outside world. The Taibo had no children. After his death, Zhong Yong succeeded him as King of Wu. He buried his brother Taibo in Meili, Wuxi. Later generations built the Zhide Temple near his tomb to commemorate the ancestor of the Wu family.

There are many relics related to Taibo in Suzhou and Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. The tomb of Taibo still exists in Hongshan (also known as Meili Mountain) in the east of Wuxi City. It is one of the key cultural protection units in Jiangsu Province. Made of blue marble, surrounded by green grass all year round, the tombstone is square and engraved with three simple and elegant seal script characters "Taibo Tomb".

It is said that after the death of Taibo, all the people of Wu were heartbroken. On the day Taibo was buried, people from Wu came to see him off one after another. Because Taibo liked to grow hemp during his lifetime, people each picked a bunch of hemp seeds around their waists to express their memory and condolences for Taibo. Since then, this custom has been spread among the people for thousands of years. To this day, it is still a funeral custom in some areas of the Chinese nation to wear hemp and mourn for the deceased elders.

Taibo had no descendants. Later generations of people with the Wu surname called him the founder of the family, and called his younger brother Zhong Yong the ancestor of the Wu surname.

After Zhongyong took over as the king of Wu, he continued to develop the foundation laid by his brother. In the history of the development of the Wu surname, Zhongyong's status was second only to Taibo, and he could be said to be the second most virtuous person. In other words, the surname Wu existed in ancient times. First, some of Shun's descendants were granted the title of Yu. Because the sounds of "Yu" and "Wu" are similar, Shun's descendants had the surname Wu. After Zhongyong's death, the Wu people buried him in Yushan, Wu State. Zhongyong's tomb is located on the mountainside of Yushan Mountain in the northwest of today's Changshu City, Jiangsu Province. The gate of Zhongyong's tomb is at the foot of the mountain, facing Beimen Street. The archway in front of the gate was built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. A letter was written "Edict to build the gate of the tomb of the sage Zhongyong". Entering the tomb Gate, walk dozens of steps up the hillside, you can see the second archway, with the four characters "Greeting Friends of the South" inscribed by Jiangnan Superintendent Cao Xiuxian on the front. There is a third archway in front of the tomb, with a banner with the words "Tomb of the Sage Yu Zhong" on the front, and a couplet engraved on the stone pillars on both sides: "It is difficult to be humbled by the country for a while, but the famous mountain for thousands of years still belongs to Yu." There is a couplet on the tomb. Among the four tombstones, the middle one was erected during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. It is well preserved and has the inscription "Cemetery of Shang Yimin Yu Zhongzhou" by Lu Zhenfei, the imperial censor who patrolled the south of the Yangtze River in the Ming Dynasty. Zhongyong is still admired by the people in Changshu area. Yushan, where Zhongyong was buried, has become a place where descendants of the Wu family at home and abroad can trace their roots and inquire about their ancestors.

Zhong Yong passed down four generations to Zhou Zhang, who played an important role in the development history of Ji Wu. He never forgot that he was a descendant of the Zhou people, so he was named Zhou Zhang. When Zhou Zhang succeeded to the throne as King of Wu, King Wu had already destroyed Shang and established the Zhou Dynasty. At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, a system of enfeoffment was implemented. The relatives of the Zhou king, the heroes who destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and the descendants of the ancestors of the past dynasties were granted vassal status in various places. The Zhou Dynasty looked for Tai Bo and Zhong Yong's descendants to be granted vassal status. Since Zhou Zhang had already become the King of Wu, they officially named Zhou Zhang the King of Wu State. Zhou Zhang's younger brother Zhong was granted the title of Yu near Zhouyuan (in today's Pinglu County, Shanxi). , listed as a prince, established the State of Yu, and his descendants took Yu as their surname. Therefore, Zhong was called Yu Zhong, just like his ancestor Zhong Yong.

The kingdom of the brothers Wu and Yu lasted through the entire Western Zhou Dynasty and was passed down for more than ten generations until the Spring and Autumn Period of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, great changes occurred in Chinese society. The Emperor of Zhou lost his authority to command the princes of the world. People no longer obeyed traditional etiquette. The princes launched annexation wars to expand their own territories. It can be said that etiquette collapsed and music failed. , the world is in chaos. The State of Yu was a small country at that time, with a territory no larger than Pinglu County in Shanxi today. It was adjacent to the powerful State of Jin to the north. Jin is the fiefdom of Shu Yu, the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty. It belongs to the same fiefdom of Ji as Wu, Yu and Guo. It was just a small country with a radius of a hundred miles at first. However, after several generations of Jin monarchs managed it, its territory expanded day by day. By the early Spring and Autumn Period, it had become The princes and powerful countries. Jin Xiangong in the Spring and Autumn Period was an ambitious monarch who wanted to expand the territory of Jin and dominate the princes.

The Yu State and the Guo State (in today's Shaanxi County, Henan Province) are located in the south of the Jin State. They control the Jin State's southward route to the Central Plains for hegemony, so they became the first targets of the Jin State's annexation. The State of Yu is separated from the State of Guo and the State of Jin. In order to prevent the two countries from uniting to resist Jin, the State of Jin adopted various strategies to defeat Guo first and then defeat Yu. In the spring of 658 BC, Xun Xi, the minister of Jin, conspired with Duke Xian of Jin and devised a conspiracy to "fake Yu and attack Guo". Xun Xi, a minister of the Jin Dynasty, went on an envoy to the State of Yu. He bribed the Duke of Yu with the famous horses produced by the State of Jin and the jade jade produced by the Chuiji, and asked the State of Yu to lend a road to Jin to conquer the State of Guo. country, and also promised to send troops to help Jin attack Guo. Gong Zhiqi was a famous virtuous minister of the Yu State, and was deeply tabooed by the Jin State. History records say: "There is a Gong Zhiqi in Yu, and Duke Xian of Jin stayed up all night because of it." After hearing about this, he hurriedly met with Duke Yu. He tried to explain all the adverse consequences to the Yu State by using the Jin Dynasty to conquer the Guo State, but Duke Yu would not listen. Previously, Dunyi, a border city of the Yu State, had been invaded by the neighboring country of Ji to the west. Seeing that the situation was developing unfavorably for itself, the Jin State sent troops to attack the Ji State and relieved the crisis in the Yu State. In the view of Duke Yu, this time the Jin State conquered the Guo State, and the Yu State should assist the Jin State in conquering the Guo State. Xun Xi, a minister of Jin, finally convinced Duke Yu, and the Jin-Yu coalition attacked Guo. Although Guo was not destroyed, it greatly weakened Guo's power. Three years later, the Jin State saw that the time was ripe to destroy both Yu and Guo, so it repeated its old tactics and asked the Yu State to attack Guo again. Minister Gong Zhiqi was horrified when he heard this. He concluded that this time the Jin State If the state borrows the road to attack Guo, it will definitely destroy Yu on the way back to the army. We urgently remonstrate with Duke Yu and try our best to prevent the country from borrowing the road to Jin.

Gong Yu did not listen to the advice and agreed to lend the road to Jin. Gong Zhiqi was helpless. He foresaw that the Yu State was about to be destroyed, so he led his people to leave the Yu State. Before leaving, he sighed and said: "I am afraid that the Yu State will not even be able to wait for the day to worship ancestors in the twelfth lunar month." Three months later, Jin Dynasty The army destroyed Guo, and on the way back to the army, they destroyed the state of Yu. Since Zhong, the younger brother of Zhou Zhang, was granted the title of Yu, he was the first king of the Yu Kingdom for 12 years.

After the fall of the Yu State, the descendants took Yu as their surname to commemorate their homeland. The surname Yu continues to this day. This is an early branch of Ji Wu and belongs to the same descendants of Taibo and Zhongyong as Wu.

The State of Wu and the Wu Surname

The State of Wu and Yu in the north was destroyed, but the State of Wu in the south prospered and became a great power in the Spring and Autumn Period, once dominating the Central Plains. Fifteen generations have passed since Zhou Zhang accepted the title of Emperor Zhou and was handed down to Shou Meng. When Shou Meng became Wu Jun, history had entered the Spring and Autumn Period. The economy of the State of Wu, centered on the Taihu Lake Basin, has developed greatly. Its national strength has increased, and it has the courage to compete with the powerful countries of the Central Plains. During Shoumeng's reign, the Central Plains was dominated by Chu and Jin's struggle for hegemony, and the Battle of Chengpu occurred between the two countries. Although Chu failed in this war, its strength was not lost. King Chuzhuang made a comeback, and Chu and Wu Yue formed an alliance again. After fighting against the Jin State, a great country in the Central Plains, the Chu army went north to fight against the Jin State. This was the second war since the Chu and Jin Dynasties fought for hegemony. The Chu State defeated the Jin State in the Battle of Bihuan, which brought the Chu State's hegemony to its peak. Chen, Cai, Zheng, Song, and other small countries in the Huaisi River Basin all surrendered to Chu. After the defeat, the Jin State was always looking for opportunities to defeat the Chu State. Therefore, small-scale wars between Jin and Chu continued one after another. In order to mediate the disputes between Jin and Chu and prevent all countries from being implicated, in 579 BC, Hua Yun, a senior official of the Song Dynasty, launched the "Anti-Brigade Alliance" to resolve the disputes between Chu and Jin. However, it soon broke down and Chu and Jin The two countries are still in an open and covert struggle. Later, a power struggle occurred in the Chu State. The Chu State Minister Shen Gong Wuchen fought for power with the Chu State Ling Yin (equivalent to the prime minister) Zi rebel. After losing, he fled to Chu's enemy Jin State. He deliberately took revenge and offered suggestions to Jin to weaken Chu. The State of Jin adopted the suggestion of Shen Gong Wuchen to contact the emerging Wu State to contain the powerful Chu state, and sent Shen Gong Wuchen as an envoy to Wu State on behalf of Jin State. The witch minister Shen Gong taught the Wu people the art of war and battle formations in the state of Wu, trained the people of Wu to use military chariots in the Central Plains to fight, and encouraged the state of Wu to attack the state of Chu. The State of Wu sent troops several times within a year, attacking in the east and west on the border between Wu and Chu. The State of Chu was exhausted and its national power weakened, and the State of Wu began to become stronger.

Wu Wang Shoumeng had four sons, the eldest son Zhufan, the second son Yuji, the third son Yumei, and the fourth son Jizha. Among them, Jizha was proficient in the culture of the Central Plains, was wise and benevolent, and had the legacy of his distant ancestors Taibo and Zhongyong. Shou dreamed of passing the throne to him. Jizha believed that doing so would destroy the eldest son succession system and cause civil strife, so he refused to resign. Shoumeng had no choice but to make his eldest son Zhufan the crown prince. When Shou Meng died, he left a will that the throne must be passed on to Jizha in the future. The people of Wu also asked to make Jizha their king. In order to avoid taking the throne, Ji Zha ran away from home and fled into the wilderness. Zhufan had no choice but to become King of Wu and made a rule that after a hundred years, he would inherit the throne from brother to brother, and he must pass the throne to Ji Zha. King Zhufan of Wu wanted to pass the throne to his younger brother Ji Zha, but he did not cherish himself very much. When fighting, he took the lead and charged into the battle. In 508 BC, Zhufan personally led an army to attack Chu, approaching Chaoyi (now Chaohu City, Anhui), a border city of Chu. Niu Chen, the guard general of Chaoyi in the state of Chu, said to his subordinates: "The king of Wu acted bravely and rashly. If the city gate is opened, he will be the first to rush into the city. I am lying in ambush at the city gate and take the opportunity to shoot him to death. Once he dies, Chu The border of the country will be stable." Chu soldiers opened the city gate as ordered, and Zhufan rushed into the city gate first, and was shot to death by Niu Chen who was hiding in the dark. In the 13th year of Zhufan's reign, he passed the throne to Yuji as agreed. After Yu Ji ascended the throne, his fourth brother Ji Zha was granted the title of Yanling, so Ji Zha was also called Yanling Jizi. During the reign of Yuji, because Jizha was familiar with Zhou rites, he represented Wu as an envoy to other countries in the Central Plains. Yu Ji reigned for 4 years. After his death, he was succeeded by his third brother Yu Mei, who reigned for 17 years. At this time, Wu's hegemony was beginning to take shape. When Yu Mei died, he passed on the throne to Jizha, fulfilling his father and brother's wish. The people of Wu also asked Ji Zha to inherit the throne, but Ji Zha still resigned humbly. Afterwards, it was difficult to shirk his resignation and fled again.

After Jizha left, the people of Wu made Yu Mei's son Liao their king, which aroused the dissatisfaction of Zhufan's son Gongzi Guang. Prince Guang believed that he was the son of Zhufan. After his uncle Jizha ascended the throne, he should succeed him according to the order of succession. So Gongzi Guang "hidden the wise men in order to attack the officials" and seize the throne. At this time, King Chu Ping of Chu State believed the slander and killed Wu She, the general of Chu State. Wu She's son Wu Zixu fled to Wu State and was later taken in by Prince Guang. Wu Zixu was brave and strategic. When he learned about Gongzi Guang's intention, he recommended Zhuanzhu, a warrior he met on the way to escape, to Gongzi Guang. Zhuanzhu received extremely high courtesy from Gongzi Guang and was willing to work for him to assassinate King Liao of Wu.

In 515 BC, King Liao of Wu took advantage of the state mourning of Chu Ping after the death of King Chu Ping. He sent his younger brothers Gaiyu and Zhu Yong to lead an army to attack Chu. At the same time, he sent Ji Zha as an envoy to Jin to observe the countries in the Central Plains. trends. Chu State had already made preparations and sent a large army to cut off the Wu army's retreat.

The Wu army was in a dilemma. Wu King Liao's two younger brothers Gai Yu and Zhu Yong could not return to Wu, and Wu King Liao was restless. Seeing that the time was right, Young Master Guang pretended to entertain his officials and asked Zhuan Zhu to wait for the opportunity to assassinate his officials. According to "Historical Records", as a precaution, King Liao of Wu set up guard sergeants along the road from the palace to Prince Guang's home. There were even guards with swords in front of Prince Guang's home hall, on the steps and beside the seats. Prince Guang deduced that Zu Ji left the scene on purpose and placed swordsmen in the cave. Zhuan Zhu hid the dagger in the belly of the burning fish and took advantage of the opportunity of offering the fish to get close to King Liao of Wu. Zhuan Zhu suddenly pulled out the dagger from the fish's belly and stabbed Liao to death. This dagger is the famous fish intestine sword passed down to future generations. In the chaos, the assassin Zhuan Zhu was hacked to death by Wu Wang Liao's guards. Prince Guang led his armored soldiers to kill San Liao's guards. Prince Guang established himself as king, and became King Helu of Wu. In order to thank the brave Zhuanzhu, Helu made Zhuanzhu's son a minister, and put Wu Zixu in charge of state affairs. When Gaiyu and Zhuyong, the younger brothers of King Liao of Wu who were fighting in the Chu Kingdom, heard the news that Prince Guang had committed regicide and established his own country, they felt that the situation was over and abandoned their troops and fled. Later, the brothers defected to the Chu State, and Chu enfeoffed Yangyi (today's Shenqiu area in Henan Province) to them. From then on, the descendants of King Wu Yu Mei flourished in the Shenqiu area of ​​Henan Province. Their descendants took the names of the two young masters Gai Yu and Zhu Yong as their surnames, becoming the two branches of Ji Wu.

After Ji Zha returned to China, he did not want to see the civil strife in Wu State again, so he recognized the legitimacy of Helu as king. "Historical Records" records that Ji Zha said: "The ancestors of Gou have no sacrifices, the people have no ruler, and the country has worship. I am the king. Who dare I complain? I mourn the death and live in order to wait for the destiny. I am not the cause of the chaos. It is the way of the ancestors to follow it."

After King Helu of Wu came to the throne, he implemented the technique of enriching the country and strengthening the army. He built city walls, set up military equipment, built warehouses, and managed the military mansion. It is said that the current Suzhou (known as Gusu in ancient times) is the capital city built by Wu Zixu with the help of Helu. Gusu City imitates the construction of the Central Plains city outline, and also takes into account the characteristics of the southern water towns. It has a circumference of 47 miles, with 8 land gates and 8 gates. Shuimen is a capital city with exquisite design and both offensive and defensive capabilities. Its construction improved the military strength of Wu State. On the recommendation of Wu Zixu, the famous military strategist Sun Wu defected to Wu from Qi and dedicated his famous 13 articles on the art of war to Helu. In order to test Sun Wu's art of war, Helu selected 180 beauties in the palace to serve as soldiers, with two beloved concubines as leaders, and let Sun Wu audition. During the exercise, the two beloved concubines regarded Sun Wu's formation of troops as child's play, and continued to laugh despite Sun Wu's repeated orders. Sun Wu executed Helu's two beloved concubines in accordance with military decrees. According to historical records, after Helu lost his two beloved concubines, his food was tasteless and his sleep was restless. However, Helu saw that Sun Wu was indeed capable of using soldiers, so he did not blame Sun Wu. He appointed Wu Zixu as the mastermind and Sun Wu as the general to train the army in preparation for attacking the powerful neighboring state of Chu. In 506 BC, King Helu of Wu, Wu Zixu, and Sun Wu led a large-scale attack on Chu. Under the leadership of the Tang and Cai armies, the Wu army won five of five battles and marched straight into the capital of Chu, Ying. King Zhao of Chu fled. Wu Zixu couldn't find King Chu, so he dug up King Ping's tomb and whipped the corpse three hundred times to avenge his father's murder. Shen Baoxu, a loyal minister of Chu State, accused Wu Zixu of being extremely unethical in whipping the king's corpse. Wu Zixu explained: "My tomb is far away, so I went in reverse to help." Later, Shen Baoxu was not afraid of the dangerous journey and went to Qin to ask for help. Shen Baoxu felt sorry for the sufferings of his motherland and his people. He cried bitterly for seven days and seven nights outside the Qin Palace, and finally moved the King of Qin. Qin promised to send troops to rescue Chu. The Qin and Chu coalition forces defeated the Wu army. During the war, Helu's younger brother Fugai took the opportunity to return home and proclaimed himself king. After Helu heard the news, he immediately led his troops back to the country and defeated Fugai. The remnant of Fugai fled to Chu State. King Zhao of Chu granted Fugai a title in Tangxi (now Suiping County, Henan Province). area), and their descendants took Tangxi as their surname, which was another branch of Ji Wu.

After Helu returned to Wu, he reorganized his army. A year later, he attacked Chu again and occupied Chu territory. In 504 BC, the Wu navy defeated the Chu navy and captured two Chu navy generals and seven senior officials. Later, the Chu army lost to the Wu army in Fanyang (now north of Xincai County, Henan). The vitality of Chu was greatly weakened, and people in the country were panicked. King Zhao of Chu was forced to move the capital, and King Helu of Wu's career could be said to have reached its peak.

Wu’s southern neighbor is Yue. According to historical records, the Yue Kingdom was established after Xia Yu and the concubine of the Xia Emperor Shaokang moved south. Like the State of Wu, the ruling class of the Yue State was descended from the nobles of the Central Plains, and the masses of the people were the local aborigines, who were accustomed to tattoos and haircuts. By the time of Yue Wang Yunchang, the descendants of Xia Yu had been passed down for more than 20 generations, and there had been wars between Wu and Yue. Wu responded to Jin to contain Chu, and Chu used Yue to contain Wu. In 537 BC and 518 BC, Yue helped Chu attack Wu twice. Wu and Yue were enemies. After attacking the Chu State, King Helu of Wu had been waiting for an opportunity to attack the Yue State. In 496 BC, King Yunchang of Yue died and Gou Jian succeeded to the throne.

The state of Wu took advantage of the state of Yue's national mourning period to send troops to attack Yue. Gou Jian of the state of Yue led his army to resist. The two armies fought at Qie Li (now Shaoxing County, Zhejiang). Since the state of Wu launched an aggressive war, the entire Yue state worked together to defeat the Wu army. During the war, King Helv of Wu injured his toe, and Wu was forced to retreat. On the way, Helv's injured toe became infected and his life was in danger. Before Helu died, he told Prince Fucha: "Don't forget that it was Gou Jian who killed your father!" Fucha promised with tears in his eyes: "You must never forget to avenge your father!" Helu died on the way back home.

After Helu died, Fucha came to the throne and was King Wu Fucha. He never forgets his father's hatred and is always ready to conquer Vietnam. He asked his subordinates to stand at the palace gate where he often went in and out. Whenever Fu Chai passed by, the subordinates would shout: "Fu Chai, have you forgotten that the Yue Kingdom killed your father?" Fu Chai replied: "Don't you dare forget. , I will definitely take revenge in three years." Fu Chai encouraged himself, and he continued to reuse Wu Zixu, and also named Xifou, the deceased minister of the Chu Kingdom, as Grand Prime Minister. After three years of preparation, King Wu sent troops to prepare for a large-scale attack on Vietnam to avenge his father. In 494 BC, the Wu and Yue armies fought in Fujiao (today's Jiaoshan, Taihu). The Wu soldiers were motivated by revenge, and they were all brave and good at fighting. They defeated the Vietnamese army in one fell swoop and invaded the border. King Gou Jian of Yue had only 5,000 soldiers left and retreated to Kuaiji (today's suburbs of Shaoxing). In order to avoid the collapse of the country, the King of Yue accepted the advice of the doctor Wen Zhong and sued for peace with Wu with "humble words and generous gifts". The condition was that Gou Jian would enter Wu and become a servant of the King of Wu, and his wife would be a slave.

Fu Chai was complacent and prepared to accept Yue's request. Wu Zixu advised Fu Chai that Wu and Yue were in the same land of three rivers, and their forces could not coexist. Gou Jian was a capable monarch, and with the support of good ministers such as Fan Li and Wen Zhong, if they were not wiped out in time, there would be endless troubles. When the dispute between the king and his ministers of the Wu State was unresolved, the Yue State sent beautiful women and treasures to bribe Dazai Bo (Xifu), and asked the uncle (Xifu) to persuade King Wu Fucha to accept the tribute from Yue and become a minister. Bo (Xifu) was originally jealous of Wu Zixu. After he accepted the bribe from the King of Yue, he repeatedly persuaded Fu Chai to accept the Yue Kingdom's request for peace. Fu Chai listened to Bo (Xifu)'s persuasion and met Wen Zhong, the official of the Yue Kingdom who was seeking peace. In the Wu court, Bo (Xifu) and Wen Zhong, the Yue State official, sang in harmony. Wen Zhong tactfully hinted to Fu Chai that once the Yue Kingdom Without the forgiveness of the King of Wu, Gou Jian will kill his wife and son, destroy the treasures, and fight Wu with his remaining 5,000 armored soldiers, and the Kingdom of Wu will gain nothing in the end. Fu Chai finally accepted Yue's peace terms. Wu Zixu sighed helplessly after hearing the news: "In 20 years, the state of Wu will be in ruins."

After Wu and Yue made peace, Yue became a vassal state of Wu, and 300 people including Gou Jian and his wife, his doctor Fan Li, etc. The rest went to the State of Wu to serve the King of Wu. According to legend, Gou Jian raised horses for his husband Chai and became a groom. Gou Jian's wife cleaned the palace for King Wu, and the couple showed no intention of resisting. In order to further paralyze and weaken Fu Cha's will, the State of Yue sent the beautiful girl Xi Shi, completely letting down its vigilance towards King Gou Jian of Yue. Seven years later, Fu Chai allowed Gou Jian to return to his country. After returning home, Gou Jian did not forget the national humiliation. He slept on firewood every night and hung a string of gall by the door. He tasted the gall when he came in and out. He asked himself: "Have you forgotten the shame after defeat?" He went to the fields like a farmer. While farming, the wife also knitted clothes and cooked meals herself like a peasant woman, living a frugal life. Gou Jian reused talented people such as Wen Zhong and Fan Li, and worked hard to govern, and the national power gradually recovered and became stronger.

Fu Chai was very happy with his achievements and yearned for hegemony in the Central Plains. He successively attacked Cai and Lu, and used a lot of manpower and material resources to dig a ditch to connect the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and prepare for the northward journey. In 485 BC, he overestimated his capabilities and united with some small countries to attack the powerful Qi State from the sea. As a result, he was defeated by Qi State. In 484 BC, Fu Chai once again marched into the Central Plains to attack Qi. He united with the State of Lu to defeat the State of Qi in Ailing (Dong Diaodiao, Laiwu County, Shandong Province), captured many Qi generals, and seized a batch of war trophies. Fu Chai was so dazzled by the temporary victory that he did not see that several battles had depleted Wu's national strength. The Yue State also sent people to the Wu Dynasty to congratulate Wu on his victory over Qi. Everyone in Wu Ju's court was happy here, but Wu Zixu was in a heavy mood. He once again stated to Fu Chai: "The more Wu's confidant, the more he gets Qi, he will only get a stone field, and crops cannot be grown in the stone field." He asserted: "The more it is not a swamp, the more likely it is to be a swamp." Wu Qixu said: "At this time, Fu Chai couldn't listen to Wu Zixu's sweet words. Wu Zixu gradually lost confidence in Fu Chai.